A Different Kind of Battle
by DarkandtwistyGirl
Summary: Set post DH. Slightly AU, but mostly canon. Harry thought that he'd been through everything that the world could throw at him. Voldemort is dead, and Harry's working as an auror, when his life is once again thrown into disarray as he suddenly finds himself fighting a very different battle. His opponent, cancer. Harry/Ginny Ron/Hermione *On hold*
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Hey guys, so this will be my first foray into the world of Harry Potter fanfic, but try not to hold that against me. :) It's also my first time using the mobile upload, so fingers crossed this'll work okay.**

**Those of you who've read my work before will know that I tend to write medical dramas, like this.**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Prologue**

It was late in July, nearly three months since the fateful battle of Hogwarts, and the subsequent fall of Lord Voldemort at the hand of Harry Potter. In this time a lot had changed, Harry and Ginny Weasley had become engaged, as had Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

And on this day, just one week shy of Bill and Fleur Weasley's first anniversary, Ron and Hermione were preparing to be wed.

Again the Burrow was going to play host to the celebrations; it was a nice change of pace after the immeasurable pain and suffering they had all endured.

Though it was hard to forget entirely what had happened, as George remained locked away in his room, grieving the unbearable loss of his twin.

As Molly and Arthur Weasley hurried about putting the final touch on the large marquee and surrounding gardens, both bride and groom were upstairs readying themselves and their bridal parties, or rather having minor nervous meltdowns trying.

* * *

"You look perfect, Hermione," Ginny tried to soothe her friend. "Everything is perfect, all you need to do is come downstairs."

"I don't know what we were thinking! Holding a wedding in such times, with a guest list that reads like the death eaters most wanted... It is too dangerous," Hermione wailed to her maid of honor.

Ginny moved to fix Hermione's hair for the fifth time. "The Ministry has rounded up hundreds of his followers; brilliant new law it is, you have the Dark Mark, you're going to Azkaban. The attacks are few and far between now. It's time to relax and let yourself be happy, this is your day. Nothing bad is going to happen."

"...You're right, of course you're right. We have placed every form of protection possible up, Mr and Mrs Weasley have worked so hard... I'm ready."

* * *

"What the bloody hell was I thinking, man? Marrying Hermione, I must be completely off my rocker," Ron said to Harry as he paced his room anxiously. "Remember when we met her? We thought she was a lunatic, and now I'm going to spend the rest of my life with her. I'm only eighteen."

Harry was nursing the beginnings of a flu, and honestly felt like crap, but he was Ron's best man, and if it was the last thing he did, Harry was going to get him to the altar.

Yes, at first Ron and Hermione had been like fire and water, in many ways they still were, that's just what made each of them perfect for the other.

After reminding Ron precisely that, the groom-to-be settled, and after straightening his dress robes they were finally ready.

* * *

The marquee was packed with members of the Order and of Dumbledore's Army, along with their supporters, and many of Hogwarts teachers. Everyone was enjoying the freedom of no longer being on the run and in hiding from death eaters.

Hermione looked positively radiant as she glided down the aisle, her elegant white gown flowing into a train that ran for nearly ten feet behind her. All her fears dissipated as she saw her soon to be husband standing before her.

Handing her bouquet to Ginny, Hermione took the final step to face Ron; her veil effectively hiding the tears that formed as her father wasn't there to give her away, he and his wife didn't even remember that they had a daughter, as she'd been forced to wipe their memories.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful, and brave souls..." And so the ceremony began.

The wizard presiding over the ceremony followed the usual wizarding wedding vows, though he would slip in not so subtle reminders to the gathering of how the young couple had fought alongside their friends against Lord Voldemort.

"...Then I declare you bonded for life."

* * *

The reception was more of a reunion, than anything else, as friends both young and old gathered together. Harry tried to skirt around the spotlight, unwilling to have it shift from his newly wedded friends, but at the end of the day he was Harry Potter, and people would always gravitate towards him.

One person in particular Harry had been expecting to corner him was non other than his former professor, a member of the Order, and Hogwarts School's newest headmistress, Minerva McGonagall. She had been exchanging frequent owls with him for weeks.

"Good afternoon, Professor," Harry greeted her politely.

"And to you, Mr Potter. I don't suppose you have your decision for me?"

The decision which Professor McGonagall spoke of was in fact a job offer; Harry had been asked to return to Hogwarts in the coming year as a Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, while continuing on as an auror working for the Ministry to aid in protecting the school.

"I have. I look forward to seeing you in September."

Minerva let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding. "Thank you."

"Though," Harry said, "I'll be lucky if I make it through the year, the position hasn't ended well for any teacher as long as I attended, and as I understand it, for some time before that. You know that many believe the position to be cursed?"

* * *

**TBC... If you ask nicely**

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	2. Chapter One

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter One**

In lieu of a honeymoon, as Ron was so busy working for the Ministry, the young couple opted to simply enjoy their first night together as husband and wife at the Burrow.

As their wedding present to the couple, Ron's parents had built a small cottage several hundred feet from the main house; this would serve as Ron and Hermione's home for many years to come.

With stone walls and a tin roof, the small house was far from glamorous, but it had a certain charm and character that made it well loved. And though the outside appeared small, as you stepped through the door you would instantly realize that the building had been enchanted, as the inside was much larger than would be possible any other way, especially as there were two levels, while from outside it seemed to be just one. The upper floor held four reasonably sized bedrooms, and a bathroom, while the lower was comprised of living areas.

* * *

The next morning came, and Harry was surprised to find Ron, fully dressed, standing at the door of his old bedroom, which was now Harry's. "Ron? What's going on?"

"I just got an owl from Kingsley, they've got a possible location on the Malfoys, Roxwell. There's nothing that'd stop me from going to that raid."

"Let me get my wand."

* * *

They reached the rundown shack soon after, only to find that they'd missed Lucius and his family by mere minutes; it was the third time in as many weeks that the Malfoys' had narrowly avoided capture, and it was getting on everyone's nerves.

It hadn't been a simple decision to go after the Malfoy family, as they had - albeit in the final hours of the war - changed allegiances. But ultimately it had been decided by the auror office that it had been too little, too late.

"Damn it!" Harry swore, striking a wall in frustration. He looked up to see that Ron was staring at him with marked concern. "What?"

"Harry," Ron said in an uneasy tone. "Your nose's bleeding."

That's when Harry noticed it, the distinct coppery taste of blood dripping down the back of his throat.

Bringing a handkerchief to his face, he tried to wipe away any blood, but as he pulled it away, Harry realised why Ron seemed so panicked, it was soaked with bright red blood. Harry put the handkerchief back in place, trying to staunch the flow of blood, but it showed no signs of stopping.

The world around him seemed to be spinning, and Harry was quickly becoming dizzy.

Ron grasped Harry's arm, and before a single word was spoken they disapparated leaving many of their colleagues stunned in their wake.

* * *

As they reached Ron's chosen destination, St Mungo's hospital, Harry felt worse than he thought was possible; if Ron hadn't had a firm grip on his arm, Harry would most certainly hit the floor.

Harry could vaguely hear Ron screaming for help, before the darkness consumed him completely.

* * *

"Harry, oh Harry, thank goodness. You're awake." Harry awoke to see Ginny hovering anxiously over the bed where he lay.

"Gin? ...What's going on?" Harry asked his worried fiancé; she looked worried, but for the life of him Harry couldn't figure out why he was there, he didn't remember getting hurt, or at least not recently.

Ginny had been holding his hand, Harry realized as she pulled free. "Let me go find the healer, just a minute, okay?"

As Ginny rapidly headed away, Harry looked around his surroundings, searching for a clue, anything to help him understand whatever was going on; at least someone had thought to leave his glasses in place. His work robes lay discarded on a chair in the corner, there was an IV in the back of his hand, this Harry thought was odd given that he was in a wizarding hospital, and there was a noticeable absence of any of the usual potions at his bedside, then he noticed that there was a nasal oxygen cannula running under his nose, and the IV was connected to two clear plastic bags that hung from a pole, one held a clear liquid, the other looked as though it held blood.

Instinctively, Harry went to pull out the IV, but then he saw that Ginny was coming back with an older wizard, whom Harry presumed was the healer.

"Ginny, what's going on? Did something happen on the raid? Where's Ron?" Harry asked, still feeling more than a little confused.

Ginny once again took Harry's hand comfortingly, "Ron's fine, he went home to talk to Mum, Dad, and Hermione. I'm going to let the healer talk to you now, I'm sure he can explain it much better."

"Explain what? What happened to me? What am I doing here?"

"Please, Harry," Ginny pleaded as fresh tears sprung to her eyes. This scared Harry more than anything else, he could count on one hand the number of times he'd seen Ginny cry in the seven years he'd known her. One of the things that most attracted him to her was just how well she always seemed to hold things together in a crisis.

The healer was an older man, maybe in his sixties, Harry decided. He extended his hand to Harry as he introduced himself, "Mr Potter, I'm Lawrence Griffin, healer here at St Mungo's. Firstly just let me say that it is a real honor getting to meet you ...I just wish that it were under better circumstances."

Harry tried to shrug off both the praise, and the underlying statement that there would be no good news. "Why? What's going on?"

There was a long pause, before the healer spoke again, "Mr Potter, you were brought here today because you had a severe nose bleed. At first we thought that you may have been cursed, but upon further testing we found several abnormalities in your blood. Both your red blood cell and platelet counts are very low, while you have a high number of immature blast cells."

"What are-" Harry began, only to stop as he saw the healer's expression turn grim.

"The nose bleed, the various bruises, as well as symptoms that your friends have described to me, like your recent tiredness, dizziness, and frequent infections, those are all symptoms of a much more serious condition. Son, do you know what leukemia is?"

"Um, yeah I guess so. A kid at my grade school had it, but she was really sick, you're not saying that that's what's wrong with me."

"I'm sorry, but the test results were conclusive. Mr Potter you have ALL, acute lymphoblastic leukemia. We need to start treatment immediately."

"Treatment? What like a potion?"

"ALL is a muggle disease, Harry, only people of non magical descent can be affected, and for that reason no healing potions are effective to treat it. You will need to recieve the muggle treatment, which will include chemotherapy, and possibly a bone marrow transplant if chemotherapy isn't effective."

This news shook Harry to the core.

Harry had spent quite a lot of his youth in the hospital wing at Hogwarts school, more than enough to know of the many ways that magic could be used in treating illness and injury. So to hear that all of the methods he'd seen work so efficiently in the past were effectively useless was a very frightening thought indeed.

Harry might have beaten death before, but he wasn't sure that he could do it again.

"Am I going to be okay?" Harry asked fearfully, tightening his hold on Ginny's hand as the healer continued to speak.

"Despite the fact that this is a muggle condition, we do have plenty of experience treating it here, and your chances of remission are high. While your disease is quite advanced, so are the treatments that we have available to us. So, we are admitting you, and start induction chemotherapy first thing in the morning."

"You have a ward here for muggle diseases?" Ginny spoke up unexpectedly, having been quiet through the conversation until that point.

"Yes, we do miss. This one we're in right here."

Harry hadn't really taken much notice at first, but now he realized that this ward was quite different from others he'd seen at St Mungo's over the years. Amongst other details, like the significant presence of pieces of muggle medical equipment, Harry noted that the rooms here, or at least the one he was occupying had only one bed, as opposed to holding up to six.

"...many witches and wizards have non magical descendants these days we came to the decision that it was best to add another ward. And just because potions and magic can't treat leukemia, that doesn't mean that they can't be extremely helpful. But if you would like to receive your treatment at a muggle hospital-"

"No, that's fine," Harry decided quickly. "How long do I have to stay here?" Harry thought back to his conversation the day before; he was meant to start working at Hogwarts just five weeks, and the Ministry always kept him working hard.

"At least four weeks, whilst you are having the initial doses of chemotherapy, after that we will better know where we stand." The healer then produced several rolls of parchment from his robes, and handed them to Harry, as he explained, "These outline the treatment regimen you will be having, along with the side effects that may occur. Please take the time to read over them carefully, and you can ask me any questions you may have when I come check on you this evening."

As the healer walked away, Harry looked to his fiancé, who promptly scrambled into his arms. Harry held her tightly, he didn't think he'd ever heard someone cry so hard, especially not for him, nothing even came close.

Though Harry did his best to reassure Ginny that he would be get through this, it was no easy feat when he himself didn't believe the words that he spoke.

* * *

Once Ginny had quietened, together they read through the information that had been left by the healer. The document listed innumerable possible side effects of treatment, among the worst as far as the young couple could see were hair loss and the distinct possibility that the recommended treatment might leave them unable to have children of their own.

As they read, Ginny varied between not being able to look at Harry, and running her hands worriedly through Harry's unruly mop of jet black hair.

They might have fought in the war, and were widely considered to be heroes, but they were still only children, just sixteen and seventeen years old, something that many forgot all too easily.

* * *

The couple feel asleep in each other's arms on the uncomfortable too narrow bed, awakening some time later to the sound of someone uncomfortably clearing their throat.

Harry looked up to see that the room had become quite crowded while he'd been sleeping; he also noticed that it was now dark, as the lights had all been dimmed for the night.

A pang of embarrassment struck Harry as he realized that the crowd surrounding him and Ginny mostly consisted of Ginny's family. But no one seemed to be truly paying too much attention to the fact that they'd invaded the young couple's intimate moment.

Arthur Weasley was standing by the bedside, his arm wrapped around his wife, who was sobbing quietly as she looked down at him and Ginny. Ron and Hermione stood back slightly, both looked as though they had been crying; as did Neville and Luna who stood beside them.

Quite honestly, the scene before him made Harry want to scream. They were acting as though he was dying; only yesterday, he'd dismissed it as the flu.

Maybe part of him still hoped that this had all just been a mistake.

* * *

After everyone had settled as much as could be expected given the circumstances, Harry explained the planned treatment to them.

Mrs Weasley had become rather frantic when Harry explained that they would be using non magical treatments. It seemed that Molly remembered all too well her husband's incident with sutures after he was attacked, and in her mind this all sounded much worse than that. But after Harry and Hermione helped her understand that this was a very different situation, and convinced her that this was the best way to proceed, she did calm down somewhat.

That said, the description of the chemotherapy's side effects did little to help ease Molly's discomfort.

Very quickly Harry found himself becoming tired, and thought it best just to let the others speak around him. He was drifting when he noticed that the topic of conversation had changed.

"What are we going to do about Harry's birthday?" Hermione asked. "It's in a few days, and Ginny and I had planned to have a party, and a cake, and everything."

Molly quickly stepped in, trying to avoid any further distress than everyone was already feeling, "We'll have it here. It'll be just like if Harry were at home with us."

They tried not to consider the possibility that Harry mightn't be in any state for celebrations by then. Or perhaps the thought didn't cross their minds.

* * *

That night was the worst that Harry had experienced in a long time, being left alone with his thoughts was worse than even seeing his friends crying for him, harder than anything that happened when his second family was with him.

He couldn't listen to light chatter.

He couldn't be distracted by the activity.

He could only think of all the information he'd read on this illness, and every way that it could take his life. And Harry knew that this disease had almost certainly already cost him his position in the Ministry, as he doubted that he would be capable of working in such a demanding position in the coming months.

Dying, Harry soon remembered was only one way that such a battle might cost him his life.

* * *

**TBC... If you ask nicely**

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	3. Chapter Two

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far, there's nothing I love more than to see that people are enjoying my stories! If you have any suggestions for plots, I'd be more than happy to try to work them in.**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter Two**

After a fretful night, Harry was awoken early by a young healer, who he immediately recognized as a former Hogwarts student, and friend of the Weasley twins, Angelina Johnson. She forced a smile, and greeted her former Quidditch teammate, "Hey Harry, so this is how you spend your summer?"

Even half asleep, Harry caught onto the older girl's rather weak joke. "Oh yeah, can't get enough of the place." His tone then turned serious, as he became more awake, "So you work here now?"

"Started about eight months back, with the war and all they needed the help." Angelina shook her head slightly, trying to continue the lighter conversation, "Gotta say I didn't think this would be how we meet up again. You just can't stay out of trouble can you?"

"This one so is not my fault. I swear."

"Yeah, okay. Before I forget, Ron stopped in on his way to work earlier on, you were still asleep, so he told me to tell you that he'll try to come by tonight. You're staying with his family?"

"Yeah, for the moment. And no George isn't doing any better, before you ask."

"I still can't believe that Fred's gone, you know?" Angelina said, her voice wavering. Quickly stopping herself, she changed the focus, "Anyway, Healer Griffin asked me to come by, put in a central line for you to receive your treatments through. That okay by you?"

Harry nodded, before turned his gaze to the floor; it was all becoming too real. He was still clinging to the last piece of hope that it was just a bad dream, and the last thing he wanted to do was part with that hope.

"Come on, Harry. Everything you've done, and you'd let this break you? That sure isn't the guy I knew at school," Angelina spoke as she waved her wand, magically arranging the supplies that she needed. "I've just got to put the back of the bed down, okay?" She spoke as she worked. "So, word is that you're working as an auror. Were you really going after the Malfoys?"

Harry cringed as Angelina swabbed just below his collarbone with cold antiseptic. "Um, yeah. Ministry figured that if we could take on Voldemort and his death eaters we knew enough to go to work for them."

"Still can't believe they attacked the school... and I saw it with my own eyes. This might sting a little," Angelina warned as she injected an anaesthetic.

"Oh damn," Despite the warning, Harry couldn't quite suppress the exclamation of pain.

"Just give it a second, then this shouldn't hurt at all, just might feel a bit uncomfortable," Angelina explained. "Just turn your head to the side now, and stay still, okay? So I heard a rumor that you got engaged to the Weasley girl, Ginny isn't it?"

"Yeah, we got engaged about a month back. And Ron and Hermione got married, well a couple of days ago ...It feels like that was ages ago now."

"Good for them, and you of course. Is Ginny going to come in today?"

"I guess so, don't know that I really want her to see me when I'm having the chemo, if I get really sick..."

"So you're just planning on leaving the whole 'in sickness and in health' part out of your vows then? ...Whatever Harry, I'm almost done here."

Harry knew that she had a point; sighing he asked, "When does the chemo start?"

"I'll start the cyclophosphamide infusion as soon as I finish getting this line in, that'll take about two hours. I swear I don't know how they come up with these drug names."

"Same way we name spells, I guess."

"Yeah, true," Angelina agreed.

"...So, once it starts is it going to make me feel sick straight away?"

"Maybe, or you mightn't get sick at all. It varies. Do you want me to get Healer Griffin to come and explain it again?"

"No, that's fine."

"Alright. I'm done here, so I'll sit you up again, okay? Just let me put a dressing on, and double check the placement," Angelina said, bringing her wand to Harry's chest. "...That's fine," She commented, before gently raising the back of the bed, so that Harry was sitting up. She gave Harry a quick, reassuring smile, before she connected the first of what would be many bags of chemotherapy to one port of his new line.

Once Angelina was finished, she cleaned up the various supplies with a flick of her wand. "A nurse will be in to check on you soon, and I'll come back and see you later, okay?"

"Okay, thanks," Harry replied, then as an afterthought he added, "Oh, and Angelina, you should go see George sometime. It might do you both some good."

* * *

Harry was about halfway through the first infusion, when there was a knock on his door, and Mrs Weasley, Hermione, and Ginny poured into the small hospital room. It didn't escape Harry's notice that neither Ron, nor Arthur Weasley had come along, but he realized then that it couldn't have been past noon, so it only made sense that they would still be at work.

Harry was already feeling a bit off, but he did his best to cover that as he greeted his friends. As Ginny came to his side, he noticed that her eyes were again rimmed red from crying; he kissed her gently, and motioned for her to sit with him on the bed.

"You'll never guess who's taking care of me," Harry commented to Hermione and Ginny once they'd each greeted him.

"Who?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Yeah, Harry who is it?" Ginny joined in.

"Angelina Johnson, she works here these days," Harry told them.

"From school? No way," Ginny laughed.

"Yeah, she came in not long ago. Put in this line, no worries."

"You let her stick you with a needle, seriously? The girl who hung out with my brothers, you're beyond mad."

"I think that it's wonderful that she is doing well," Molly commented happily; she often thought of how her children's former schoolmates were, it was often good news just to learn that they had survived the war.

They quietened down for a minute, before Hermione spoke up, "So Harry, I was reading about leukemia and the treatment last night, it really is quite interesting," She hauled a half a dozen heavy textbooks from her bag, which must have had an extension charm to hold the load. "In case you're interested I brought these in for you, just a little light reading."

* * *

Angelina came in about an hour later to disconnect Harry from the now empty IV bag, and give him his morning tablets. As she exposed the central line in Harry's chest, the sight of it proved a little too much for the Weasleys', Hermione coped better, but left all the same, mumbling about getting some fresh air as she followed the Weasleys' in their rapid retreat.

"Oh yeah, it tends to get the better of most pure-blood wizards, even ones as open to the muggle world as the Weasleys are. Remember, to them an IV is quite alarming. I personally find it all quite fascinating," Angelina tried to reassure Harry, as she handed him a small cup of tablets and a glass of water, "Here you go, that's dexamethasone and maxolon."

"I... um, I don't think I can- I'm not feeling so well." The tablets clattered as they hit the floor, and Harry bolted into the bathroom.

It was then that Harry realized just how fortunate he was that his friends had stepped out. He didn't want them to see him like this, gripping the porcelain for dear life as his stomach clenched violently. Though this would become an all too familiar scene in the coming months.

"...Harry, you need a hand in there?" Angelina called gently through the door, allowing him some privacy.

Harry stayed put, not even daring to open his mouth, until the nausea started to pass. Shakily, he got to his feet, splashing some water on his face before heading for the door.

"You okay, Harry?" Angelina asked, putting an arm around him for support as she helped him back to bed.

Harry nodded stiffly, but remained silent, as he sank back into the bed.

"I'll speak to Healer Griffin about changing your medications to injection form, alright? We might also need to give you fluids through the central line to keep you hydrated."

* * *

Despite the healers' efforts, Harry continued to suffer the painful after effects of the chemotherapy, the only difference was now he had a continuous flow of saline running through his line.

This continued on until late in the evening, when Healer Griffin mercifully agreed to give Harry a dreamless sleep potion so that he could get a decent night's rest.

* * *

The days just blurred together after that for Harry, the morning of his eighteenth birthday though he awoke to find that his entire room decorated from floor to ceiling with balloons and streamers, the table over his bed was completely covered with beautifully wrapped gifts.

It brought a smile to his face; given the circumstances that was a lot.

* * *

Harry was still admiring the impressive decor, when members of the Order and Dumbledore's Army started to file into the room, each greeting Harry in turn.

With Ginny's help, Harry started in on the stack of gifts and birthday cards. He got new clothes, books, games, even a small assortment of novelty items he knew that had come from George, even though he hadn't come to the celebration.

Seeing his friends gathered around him, Harry realized that much of the initial shock surrounding his diagnosis had dissipated, and despite the fact that he was still in hospital they were generally treating him quite normally.

As each present was opened Harry would either hug or shake hands with with the person would had given it.

Harry was almost finished with the presents, when Angelina made her way through the crowd. As people recognized her, they would embrace her as she passed them.

"Happy birthday, Harry. Quite a party you have here," Angelina greeted him. "Don't think you're going to be thanking me for what I'm going to give you, though," she joked as she hung two new IV bags; there was no need to replace the saline, as it had been bewitched so that it would replenish itself.

"What do you have for me today?" Harry tried to keep his tone light.

"Vincristine, doxorubicin, dexamethasone, and maxolon. How've you been feeling?"

"Pretty average," Harry replied quietly, not wanting to admit that he felt like death warmed up.

"Well the maxolon might help, but let us know if you don't feel some relief," Angelina said as she finished hooking up the IVs, and injecting the additional medications. "I'll give you some time with your visitors."

As Angelina turned to leave though, Harry caught her by the arm, "Stay, just for awhile. Besides-" Harry began with a smile, "you have to see what I got from George. Don't think it's all even in the store yet."

"Had to give you something original," A voice came through the crowd; at first Harry couldn't see him, but he knew immediately who it was.

"Hey George, long time no see," Angelina said gently, pulling her old friend into a hug. "I'm so sorry about Fred," She whispered in his ear.

"Yeah, me too," George replied in an equally hushed tone, before pulling back. He turned to Harry, "Ginny had Freddy and me working on something for your birthday," he said, producing a small ball, which he tossed over their heads; it promptly exploded with confetti and streamers. "It's one of your first real parties, so we thought it only right to make sure that it is shall we say, memorable," George said laughing with Harry as everyone in the room began trying to get the confetti out of their clothes and hair, with little success.

"Sticking charm?" Harry guessed.

"That was Fred's idea," George said, looking as though he was going to either laugh or cry.

"It's brilliant," Harry replied, pulling George into a hug so that his tears would go unseen. "Thanks."

* * *

The party soon drew to a close as Harry reluctantly asked his friends to leave; he didn't want them all to see how badly the chemotherapy affected him.

* * *

Twenty one days after beginning treatment, Harry was certain that it couldn't get any worse; he was frequently nauseated, his body constantly ached, he always tired, often bed bound, his hair was falling out, and he could seldom even stomach water.

But Harry was wrong, it could get worse.

Harry learnt this, when he was introduced to a new level of hell, intrathecal chemotherapy.

It was the morning that signaled the beginning of Harry's second chemotherapy cycle, Healer Griffin and Angelina came into Harry's room.

In the past several weeks, it had become less and less common for Healer Griffin to actually come see Harry. For the most part Angelina was now tending to Harry, simply keeping her superior informed of his progress, but she had not yet learnt how to administer intrathecal chemotherapy, she hadn't even seen it done before. Angelina knew of course that she would be expected to do it in the future, but there was no way that she was going to attempt the procedure - never having seen, let alone practiced, it before - on her friend, so she had asked Healer Griffin to step in.

Angelina greeted Harry in something resembling their usual manner, before stepping back to allow the more experienced healer to speak with Harry. But before he said anything about the treatment, the older healer could be heard muttering a variety of choice words. No doubt he'd found some of the charmed confetti, which still kept showing up around Harry's room, much to everyone's irritation.

George had promised that the charm would wear off within a couple of weeks, but Harry now suspected that it had purposefully been made to last longer so as to provide Harry with a continued source of entertainment.

Harry and Angelina shared an amused look as they watched Healer Griffin try fruitlessly to get a stubborn piece of bright pink confetti off his highly polished shoes.

"Makes me rather glad I'm working up here," Angelina commented quietly, "Down in the spell damage department they're going mad about Fred and George's products, hate to see what would happen if they found out I knew the guys who invented them."

"They don't cause any real damage though, they'd never release anything for sale that could cause real harm."

"True, but they can be bloody difficult to reverse if you don't know how."

"So you and Ms Johnson played Quidditch together I hear," Healer Griffin began conversationally, having clearly given up on his efforts against the confetti. "Fantastic sport, I was a keeper on my own school's team for three years. What position do you play, Harry?"

"Seeker."

"Made the team in his first year," Angelina added in.

"Very impressive," Healer Griffin agreed. "Well then, down to business. You are all set to start your second cycle of chemotherapy today, Harry, but before we begin I just wanted to explain it to you, it's just going to be slightly different than the last round. As I'm sure you read in the information I gave you, chemotheraputic drugs don't cross the barrier that surrounds the brain, but in most cases there are leukemia cells present in the fluid there, so we need to target those cells more directly. Today we will do a lumbar puncture, which is where we insert a needle into the space between two of your vertebrae, and we will then inject methotrexate directly into your spinal canal. You'll need to have this done again tomorrow, and then again in the forth, sixth, and eighth cycles. You will most likely have a headache after the procedure, but this will pass within an hour or so. Are you alright if we get started?"

"Okay," Harry agreed, he didn't think it sounded like fun, but he truly didn't think that it could get any worse.

Harry was instructed to lie on his side, and bring his knees and chin to his chest as tightly as he could. Once everything was organised, Healer Griffin had Angelina lean over Harry, and hold him behind his knees and neck.

Angelina kept talking, trying to put Harry at ease; then she realized that his current view was probably doing that quite well enough. "I swear, Harry you better not breathe a word of this..."

"Nice piercing," Harry joked, noticing the older girl's pierced navel, showing through a gap in her robes.

"Oh shut up, Potter," Angelina quipped, she might have tried to cover herself better, but Healer Griffin was about to begin, so instead she tightened her grip, and paid close attention to the experienced healer's actions. "Just keep breathing, Harry. It'll be done soon."

Harry tensed as the needle entered his back, every instinct told him to move away from it, but Angelina tightly kept a hold of him.

"You should've been a beater, when'd you get so damn strong?" Harry complained.

"Stay still, Harry. Just a few more minutes. You need to stay still," Angelina urged him, deciding not to point out that she hadn't become any stronger, Harry had just become much weaker since starting treatment.

"Okay, talk to me. I need a distraction, just talk."

"Um, okay no worries ...Did George tell you that he asked me out the other day? It's really just a friends thing, but it'll be good to get him out of that house."

"What're you guys going to do?"

"We're going to see a muggle movie, then we might have some dinner together."

"That's a date," Harry replied with a slight laugh.

"Yeah, I guess it is, but just don't tell anyone. We're trying to be respectful, you know. I used to date his twin brother."

"You shouldn't feel bad about that, Fred would want you both to be happy. If anyone would be okay with it, you know it would've been Fred."

"Yeah, I know. But still, we're going to take it slow."

"So what movie are you going to see?"

* * *

**TBC...**

**Please take a moment to drop in a review**


	4. Chapter Three

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I'm glad you liked it!**

**And as always, if you have any suggestions or ideas for this story, please message me, and I'll do my best to work them in.**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter Three**

"Please, please you've gotta make it stop," The procedure was finished, and Harry now knew that the possible headache wasn't just a minor side effect, it was agonizing. Try as he might've to be stoic, it just wasn't possible.

"You've already had a painkiller, Harry," Angelina told him sympathetically, wishing that there was something more that she could do for him. She replaced the cold flannel that covered Harry's eyes and forehead. "Just lie still, it will pass."

"No, I can't! Please, I can't do this, just make it stop."

Angelina summoned over a chair, and she sat down beside Harry's bed; he was a friend to her, she couldn't bring herself to leave him. She stayed there, talking to Harry, periodically helping him turn over in the bed, trying to ease his discomfort.

They continued in this fashion for forty minutes before Angelina finally gave in, and had an aide bring Harry a sleeping potion.

As Harry fell asleep, Angelina decided that she needed to speak to Healer Griffin about the possibility of implanting a specialized port, called an ommaya reservoir for future treatments to avoid the repeated punctures; there was only so much that one person's body could take, and she feared that they may have just found Harry's limit.

* * *

Harry had only just drifted off when Ron, Hermione, and Ginny came in to visit. Angelina pressed a finger to her lips, as she moved to the doorway to explain. "...You're welcome to stay, but it's best if he can rest for now. I'll be back to check on him soon," She finished, taking a moment to compose herself, before swiftly leaving the room.

The trio each took a seat at Harry's beside.

"His hair's getting really thin," Hermione commented sadly as she looked over her friend.

"In case you haven't noticed, Hermione it's not just his hair that's getting thin," Ron pointed out.

"I have noticed, Ronald. I spoke to Angelina yesterday, they are talking about putting in a feeding tube if he doesn't eat soon," Hermione told her husband indignantly. "I never thought I'd say this, but I wish that Snape was still alive. If there was a potion that would help Harry, he'd be the one to know about it."

Ron and Ginny nodded in agreement.

"What about Professor Slughorn? Maybe he could help."

Ron was quick to shoot his sister's suggestion down, telling her, "Slughorn's an old blowhard. I would've died that day in his office if Harry hadn't been there."

"What is a feeding tube anyway, Hermione? I've never heard of it," Ginny asked, as she gently took Harry's frail hand in hers.

"It's a piece of muggle medical equipment. It is inserted from the nose, down to the stomach. A nutritional drink - which I believe is called Nutrison - is fed in through a pump for a set length of time, this is done daily to maintain nutrition when someone isn't eating or isn't eating enough."

"That's just gross. You can't be serious, Hermione," Ron exclaimed in blatant disgust.

"It isn't pleasant, but neither is starving to death, so they may need to do it."

* * *

Hermione was proven right, though she would've gladly been proven wrong on the matter, as just two days later Healer Griffin ordered a feeding tube for Harry, who had already lost an alarming ten pounds from his already lean frame.

Angelina was just explaining how the feeding system worked to Harry, having just finished placing the tube, when Ginny came into the room, a worried expression on her face.

"Harry, I need to talk to-" Seeing the tube taped to Harry's cheek, Ginny faltered.

"Gin? You okay?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Oh, um... Yeah, I'm okay. I just needed to speak with you. Professor McGonagall sent you an owl this morning, my Hogwarts letter was there too, Hermione's too. I read your letter, I hope that's okay," Ginny answered, producing an envelope from within her robes.

Harry accepted the envelope, and extracted the parchment from it, silently he read the letter.

Dear Mr Potter,

I, Minerva McGonagall am writing to formally confirm your availability to join the teaching staff at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in the coming year in the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. I have been inform through our sources that you have become unwell, but I hope that you will still be able to start as planned.

Please reply at your earliest convenience.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Headmistress

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"What am I going to do?" Harry said with a dejected sigh, in the chaos that had become his life, he had completely forgotten to contact the headmistress. "There's no way that I can go, not like this."

Angelina stepped in, she gently took the letter from Harry, and looked it over. "Harry, you'll be going home in a few days. All your treatments after that could be done in the hospital wing or even in your quarters. This is the hardest part of the treatment, what you're going through right now, and once we get some meat back on your bones you should start to feel a lot better. There's no reason to think that you couldn't manage classes on days that you don't have treatment, I'm sure McGonagall would help you work something out."

"You really think that it's an option?" Harry asked Angelina with guarded optimism. If he couldn't be an auror, teaching seemed like the next best thing.

"There's no reason why it wouldn't be."

"You should probably contact Professor McGonagall soon though," Ginny commented. "Just explain your situation to her. That way everything can be organized before we arrive."

* * *

Harry wrote back to McGonagall while Ginny was sitting with him; Ginny had only just left, when Harry looked up to see his former professor standing in the doorway, her appearance noticeably disheveled.

Honestly Harry hadn't expected more than possibly a letter in response, so she caught him somewhat by surprise.

Harry hastily covered himself up with the blankets, and tried to regain some kind of composure, but frankly he didn't have the strength. "Professor, it's um... I wasn't expecting you."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner, Potter?" McGonagall asked, a note of hurt in her voice. "This is much more serious than I'd realized."

"It's not really as bad as it looks, a few months of treatment, and I'll be fine. You really didn't need to come."

"After everything that has happened Harry, how could I not?" McGonagall replied, taking a seat by Harry's bed. "Do you need anything? Anything at all."

Harry sat up a bit higher in the bed. "I'm alright, Professor. I really just wanted to make sure that it is going to be alright for me to teach at Hogwarts while I'm having treatment."

"Of course," McGonagall said a little too quickly; she knew as well as Harry did that it had become almost impossible to find someone who would take the post, and like his age, having to make allowances for an illness going to deter her in the slightest. "If I can make it easier for you in any way, please just let me know. I can organize whatever you need."

"Thanks. The healers here said that I should be able to do most things on days when I don't have treatment, and they can send one of the healers from here, Angelina Johnson out to give me my treatments."

"Alright, that's good. I was actually thinking about bringing in an aide for Madame Pomfrey, I may speak to Ms Johnson before I leave. But if you do need anything..."

"You'll be the first to know," Harry supplied, he then tried and failed to hide a yawn.

"I'll leave you to rest, I look forward to seeing you on the first of September. Please try not to be confused for a student."

* * *

The Weasley clan again came to visit Harry at St Mungo's late that evening. It was always a tight fit, getting everyone into the small room, but it was also a time when Harry felt most comfortable, reminded of just how many had grown to care for him since his fateful eleventh birthday.

Ginny had been overjoyed to hear that her fiancé would indeed be joining her when school resumed in September. Her mother had been much harder to sell on the idea - more so than anyone else - but once she learnt that Harry was going to be making arrangements in advance, and that the healers had signed off on it, she conceded.

* * *

By the time he was released from St Mungo's, Harry was feeling much better, though this may have only been due to the fact that he was in a rest period between treatment cycles.

The healers had placed an ommaya reservoir under his scalp to facilitate future intrathecal chemotherapy treatments after Angelina had suggested it; despite the noticeable lump under his skin, Harry didn't mind this device at all. By comparison the process to access this device was a great deal less painful and complicated than repeated lumbar punctures, and that alone made it a very appealing option to Harry.

Harry would be allowed ten whole days of rest and recuperation from it would be time to return to Hogwarts, another five days after that before the third chemotherapy cycle would begin.

* * *

Stepping out of the fireplace at the Burrow, Harry couldn't help but be saddened to notice that the good cheer that had been present before his collapse was long gone.

Mrs Weasley protectively ushered Harry past her children, and upstairs to the bedroom that he had previously shared with Ron. Settling him into bed, Molly told him, "You just rest, dear. I'll bring you up something nice for lunch in a while."

Harry tried to refuse, knowing that there was no way that he could keep anything down, except for the liquid supplement that ran in for twelve hours each night, but that just made Mrs Weasley more determined to find something he would find palatable.

* * *

Ron came upstairs soon after to find Harry dozing restlessly. A floorboard creaked, unexpectedly announcing Ron's presence.

Harry rolled over in his bed to face his best friend, "Hey Ron. What're you up to?"

"Oh I should just let you rest, Mum would be so pissed if she knew I woke you up."

"Ron," Harry pressed.

"Alright. Angelina's come over to see George, Ginny and me have roped them into playing a little Quidditch, we were wondering if you felt like joining in. We can find you a spare broom."

"I'm not really-" Harry begun, only to change his mind at the last moment. It would be nice to watch his friends playing his favorite sport, even if he couldn't join in. "I could come watch for awhile."

* * *

Ron helped Harry downstairs, and set him up at the edge of the pitch where Hermione already sat, before leaving them to play.

For awhile Harry just sat contentedly with Hermione, watching the Weasleys' and Angelina flying, before his thoughts turned to something else. Trying to seem casual, Harry spoke to Hermione, "Hermione, I need you to help me with something."

"Sure, whatever you need, Harry."

Harry ran his hand through his thinning hair, and before he even spoke, Hermione knew what he was asking.

"No way, Harry! I told you I'd never cut your hair again."

"Hermione, please. Ginny said she'd do it, but she doesn't even know what a shaver is. It's bad enough that I'm going to be teaching at Hogwarts with tubes sticking out of my nose and my chest, at least if we shave my hair then I did it on my terms."

"...Alright," Hermione reluctantly agreed. "Do you want to do it now? We could go in while they're distracted?"

"I was thinking of doing it tonight, if that's okay. If you would rather do it now, that's fine too."

"It's alright, Harry. We'll do it this evening, just come find me when you're ready."

* * *

Late that night, Ginny lay in Harry's bed with him, running her hand over Harry's freshly shaved head. "It's going to take some getting used to, isn't it?" Harry commented, still getting used to the bizarre feeling himself. "I'm going to have to get some beanies or something, it's really cold."

"I could get Mum to make you some," Ginny said, laughing as Harry's expression changed. "Don't worry, I wouldn't. I'll go shopping tomorrow."

"Thanks, Gin."

"Don't worry about it."

* * *

The next morning, Hermione and Ginny headed off to a local shopping complex, returning hours later with at least half a dozen bags each in hand, some Harry noticed were from shops in Diagon Alley, they must've stopped in to get their school supplies.

Ron had unexpectedly called a number of their friends to spend the day with them at the cottage he shared with Hermione beside the Burrow. The group was now gathered in the lounge room.

Harry was sitting in the corner, wearing an old hoodie with the hood up to cover his head; he had been trying to keep up with the conversation, but he had since grown too tired.

While Hermione joined the rest of the group, quickly entering into a conversation with Luna and Neville about the NEWT exams that seventh year students, like Luna and Ginny, and those returning to repeat their seventh year, like Hermione, would sit in the upcoming school year, Ginny went straight to Harry.

Ginny pecked Harry lightly on the cheek, before presenting him with two shopping bags.

"Really, Ginny," Harry laughed. He looked through the bags, pulling out a plain black beanie, which he quickly put on. It was just one of at least ten, but it would end up being the one worn most often. He cringed slightly to think how much money Ginny had spent on him in the course of the outing, but she seemed pleased, so he let it slide.

"Hey Harry, Ginny, we're gonna head outside, you guys coming?" Ron called out as the group began moving towards the door.

"Just a minute, bro," Ginny replied with a laugh, as she curled up with Harry.

Ron cringed, still not completely comfortable with the idea of his little sister dating his best friend. "...Um, alright. Just don't do anything, please..."

"Ron!"

* * *

**TBC...**

**Please take a moment to drop in a review**


	5. Chapter Four

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter Four**

To many people's surprise the majority of the surviving students and faculty returned to the school, and as they boarded the Hogwarts Express it became clear that the school would have quite a few more students than it had in recent years.

The wizarding community had started to relax, and people felt safe enough not only to come out of hiding, but also to send their children away to school.

The population also included a number of older students, who like Hermione had returned to repeat their disrupted their seventh year.

In an effort to avoid be jostled in the crowd as he navigated his way through the station, Harry was tightly guarded by Ginny, Hermione, Luna, and several other members of Dumbledore's Army. Only once they were aboard the train did Harry's friends relax slightly.

There was the usual clusters of first years racing around the train, and groups of older students gathered together discussing their summers.

Though there had been a compartment assigned for those members of staff returning to Hogwarts via the train, Harry opted to stick with his friends for the journey, and settled into a familiar cabin with his fiancé at his side.

"It's going to be weird, seeing Harry as just another teacher," Ginny commented to Luna as she curled up comfortably against Harry, who seemed to have fallen asleep.

"Oh, I'm sure it won't be too different really," Luna replied. "Just remember how he was when we were training in the Room of Requirement."

"...You guys do know that I can hear you, right?" Harry said without bothering to open his eyes.

"Sorry, love."

"No offense meant, Harry."

Harry sat up slightly, looking at his friends directly. "Don't worry about it. I was thinking that we probably should try getting used to you all referring to me more formally," Harry seemed uncomfortable, even suggesting this. He was quick to add, "At least in public."

"Alright, Professor Potter," Ginny said in a mocking tone. She leant over, and whispered something in his ear, her voice so soft that no one else could hear.

Harry suddenly found that he was quite awake, he laughed in response to whatever had been said, and it wasn't difficult for the other occupants of the compartment to catch onto what had been whispered. "No Gin, not then."

"Oh get a room, guys," Returning seventh year, Seamus Finnigan said with a groan.

"We have a room," Ginny joked, lightly kissing Harry, "You just happen to be in it."

* * *

Harry parted ways with his friends as the train reached Hogsmeade station, joining the other teachers who'd arrived on the train. It was a very different view from this side, but Harry felt that he could grow to like it, though he had to admit it felt very strange now.

He saw Hagrid shepherding the first years towards the boats; his first instinct was to run up and greet his old friend, but decided against it, fearing the shock that his current appearance may cause as they hadn't seen each other since Ron and Hermione's wedding. 'I'll catch up with him before the feast', Harry thought as he joined a carriage to complete the journey to the castle.

Amongst others in the carriage with Harry was none other than Horace Slughorn, the school's potions master, and 'collector' of promising students.

As Harry settled into his seat, he pulled the beanie tighter onto his head, and tried to avoid drawing attention to himself. This action was to no avail.

Slughorn spotted him immediately. "It can't be... Harry Potter?"

Sighing, Harry turned towards the voice. Doing his best to ignore the murmurs and stares as his face came into full view, though it was already getting old. "Hello, Professor. Good to see you."

"The rumors are correct then? Harry Potter, the chosen one, returning to teach at Hogwarts. Always knew you'd do great things, Harry. Read good things in the Prophet about your work against the death eaters. Didn't expect you to take a teaching position so young though."

"...Well my options were a little limited."

"You're ill? ...Oh yes, Minerva did mention something. Some kind of muggle disease, yes?"

"Leukemia, yes."

"Oh well, what doesn't kill us and all that. It won't kill you, will it my boy?"

"Shouldn't, Professor," Harry answered shortly.

"Of course not, not after all you've done. Well, good to have you on board. And please, it's Horace."

* * *

Stepping out of the carriage, Harry headed off to find Hagrid, who by his figuring should be handing off the first years for sorting about now. Rounding a corner, Harry saw the gentle half giant walking away from the tightly huddled group of nervous young students.

Harry followed him a ways away, not wanting to have what he was quite certain would be an emotional scene in front of students. Deciding that it was as good of a time as any, Harry called out to him with as much strength as he could muster, "Hey, Hagrid. Wait up a second."

Hagrid turned on his heels as he heard Harry's voice; he had Harry in a rather bone crushing embrace before he seemed to realize that something was wrong. Pulling Harry back so that he was at an arms length, his feet dangling well clear of the floor, Hagrid took in his young friend's appearance. "What the devil happened to you, kid?"

"It's okay, Hagrid. Really, looks much worse than it is." Harry cringed as Hagrid burst into noisy sobs. "I guess it does look bad though."

Hagrid kept crying, and if anything he was getting louder.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry could see the other professors filing into the back door of the great hall; the feast was about to begin.

"Please, Hagrid, please stop," Harry was pleading now. "Hagrid, I'm okay. Please listen to me. I am okay, I wouldn't be here if I weren't. McGonagall never would've hired me if I was going to drop."

Hagrid looked Harry over again, before pulling him close, as he wiped away tears. "Had enough death in my life, Harry. You shouldn't be scaring me like this, not good for me health."

"I know, I know. It's just been a little hectic. Now, would you please let me down? We need to go to the feast."

Hagrid let Harry drop heavily to the floor, unthinking; Harry was brushing off his robes, as Hagrid spoke, "You'll be sitting with me, won't you? Professor Potter ...so proud of you I am."

* * *

The Great Hall was already packed with Hogwarts staff and students eagerly awaiting the start-of-term feast as Harry took his seat at the staff table beside Hagrid; searching the Gyffindor table, Harry saw many familiar faces, he smiled down at them, before turning his attention to the sorting ceremony.

As the final students were sorted, Professor McGonagall stood to address the student body.

"Good evening. Welcome to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry first year students, and welcome back to all of our older students, in particular those students returning for their eighth year. This year represents what I hope will be a fresh start, and the beginning our world's recovery from the great tragedies that have occurred. Several announcements for you. There have been several significant changes in staffing this year, as many of you may know I have been promoted to the position of Headmistress, taking over from Professor Snape, who died last year. Professor Slughorn will be taking over my former duties as deputy. Alecto and Amycus Carrow have been dismissed and are now awaiting trial in Azkaban Prison-"

Anything that McGonagall might have said next was completely drowned out, as many of the students and teachers alike to break into raucous cheers of celebration; the Carrows' had caused such suffering that it bothered very few to know that they were now the ones suffering.

"Alright, quieten down. Their respective positions of Muggle Studies and Defence Against the Dark Arts will be taken by Eleanor Peters and our own Harry Potter. Angelina Johnson will be joining the staff as an assistant to Madame Pomfrey. I will continue teaching Transfiguration until a suitable replacement can be found. Professor Potter will also be taking the position as head of Gryffindor House."

Again the headmistress had to pause to allow the students to demonstrate their excitement.

"And on a more personal note, whilst it is understandable that tensions remain high for many of you, let this serve as your notice that no action upon those tensions will be tolerated at Hogwarts under any circumstance, and I expect that all students and staff, regardless of which side they fought on during the war will refrain from pursuing any vendettas whilst on the school grounds. There will be a zero tolerance policy against such actions, if you have an issue please inform myself or your head of house. Thank you, please enjoy the feast."

The students broke into yet another round of applause, the buffet magically appearing along every table.

Around him, Harry could see his new colleagues hungrily taking an assortment from the buffet, but he had no appetite.

"You not eating, Harry?" Hagrid said, his mouth full of food.

"Not at the moment, Hagrid, but please you go ahead and enjoy it. I'm not that hungry." As Harry spoke, he could see Ginny down at the house table watching to see if he was eating; it seemed that she had picked up where her mother left off, constantly trying to force food on Harry.

At that moment Harry was thankful for the distance.

* * *

The feast ran later into the night than Harry remembered it doing in past years, maybe it just seemed that way as he was so fatigued by then. Once the students had been excused, and he'd received directions and a password to his quarters from McGonagall, Harry headed to bed.

* * *

By the next morning as classes began rumors were already running wild about what was wrong with Harry; the popular theory was that he'd had a breakdown and was now completely mad, most likely also suffering from an eating disorder.

The true nature of his condition remained only known to the staff and Harry's close friends.

Harry's first class that Wednesday morning consisted of seventh year students from Ravenclaw and Gyffindor; for the most part they met him warmly, not the types to believe the gossip. Harry had to bite his lip to avoid laughing as it was to clear to him that Ginny wanted to run to him, having spent the night apart from her fiancé.

Many of those in that class had been in Dumbledore's Army, and as such had an advanced level of skill, but to be fair to the others Harry started the class on a simpler task, breaking into pairs to practice defensive and blocking spells.

If only all his classes could have gone so easily.

* * *

Next up was a third year class of Hufflepuff and Slytherin students, and it quickly became clear to Harry that more often than not, the Slytherin students he would teach were children of death eaters or their supporters who he and other aurors had sent to Azkaban Prison.

Seeking vengeance for their parents, several of these students would 'accidentally' send hexes and curses in Harry's direction at least once a class, fortunately Harry had easily blocked their attempts this time.

To make matters worse, Harry would soon realise that any punishment he could hand out only gave them pleasure and increased the admiration they received from certain classmates; the rest of their house wasn't game to mention their annoyance at the significant number of lost points.

* * *

By the end of the day, Harry was dead on his feet, and didn't think even the cruciatus curse could cause him more pain than he was feeling, but when he saw Ginny waiting at the entrance to his quarters he was instantly bolstered.

"How was your first day?" Ginny asked worriedly. "Did everything go alright? You didn't wear yourself out too much, did you?"

Harry opened the door, and lead Ginny inside, as he began telling her of his day.

As he finished speaking, Ginny was just staring at him in disbelief. "I'm gonna kill them," she ground out in anger.

"Don't even think about it, Gin. Don't do it. I'm your head of house. If you so much as lay one finger on one of them, and I'll be the one called to expel you. I can handle it."

"But what if they really hurt you? You mightn't be able to block them every time," Ginny pointed out, moving to connect Harry to the feeding pump, sensing that he would soon fall asleep, and she had quickly grown to hate doing it when he was sleeping.

"They're not going to catch me off guard again."

"You better not let them, Harry. Or I just might kill you myself," Ginny chastised him.

"I've got to go to bed, Gin," Harry said, taking the portable pump in his hand as he stood and moved towards the bedroom. "And you can't be out after curfew."

"It's still early, can I lie with you for awhile?"

"Okay, but promise me that you won't sleep here."

"I promise that I will not be caught sleeping in your bed, Professor."

Harry scowled playfully. "Or walking the halls after curfew."

"Yes, sir."

"Or mocking your professors."

* * *

**TBC... **

**Please take a moment to drop in a review!**

**And as always, if you have any suggestions or ideas for this story, please message me, and I'll do my best to work them in.**


	6. Chapter Five

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Despite their conversation, in the days that followed, Harry had to admit that he was disappointed to realise that he was alone in his bed in the mornings, his arms ached as they felt so empty. He had grown accustomed to being away from Ginny as he'd spent so much time in the hospital, but it was very different now that his partner was only a few rooms away.

Wearily Harry sat up, disconnecting the feeding tube from its pump, and forcing a syringe of water through it to clean it, before getting out of bed.

Glancing at the clock, Harry realized that he had overslept; he'd missed breakfast, but that wasn't what bothered him... Harry had planned on overseeing the Gryffindor house team's Quidditch tryouts that morning, and they had started half an hour ago.

Hurriedly dressing, Harry headed out to the Quidditch pitch, trying to ignore the fact that his day had barely begun, and he was already struggling.

At least it was a weekend, Harry thought. He would be able to rest most of the day.

* * *

As Harry saw the Quidditch pitch come into view, he saw his fiancé leading the team tryouts; it cheered him to remember that Ginny had been selected to captain the team that year. Though many suspected that the youngest Weasley had been chosen preferentially over her classmates due to her longstanding relationship with their new head of house, Harry knew that she had been chosen only because she had proven herself worthy. The decision had in fact been made before he started in the position, he hadn't had anything to do with her selection at all, but since when did the truth stop rumors at Hogwarts?

Ginny was in the process of testing potential keepers when she noticed Harry. Signaling for a break, she brought her broom down near Harry.

Harry knew that it was clear to Ginny that something was amiss, moving quickly to his side, she quietly asked him, "Are you okay, Harry? You don't look well."

"I haven't looked well for weeks, Gin. I think I just didn't get enough sleep last night, I'm okay." Eager to avoid further questions, Harry changed Ginny's focus, "How're the tryouts going?"

"I think we'll be able to put together a decent team, I did sign on as a chaser, but I'm having trouble finding a good seeker. Shame you can't play on the team," Ginny sighed.

"Yeah, I wish. I'll let you get back to it, Gin. How about you show me the seekers, maybe I could help you decide?"

"Alright, love. Merlin knows I need some help."

"You'll work it out, I did, and I'm not half as smart as you."

Ginny blushed bright red; it only added to her flustered appearance.

"You know that I want to kiss you right now, don't you?" Harry said teasingly, as he found Ginny embarrassment quite sweet. "Go on, get back out there."

* * *

Several hours, and much frustration later, a team had been chosen, but not before Harry had taken a misaimed bludger to the stomach. Harry was helping Ginny return the equipment, when Angelina approached them hurriedly.

"Everything okay, Ang?" Harry was immediately concerned, he hadn't planned on seeing the healer again outside of mealtimes until tomorrow, maybe he'd gotten the dates confused.

After a couple of deep breaths to recover from her jog, Angelina explained, "You need to come up to the hospital wing, Harry. There's a problem with your latest test results."

"A problem?" Ginny questioned, her voice betraying her fear. "What kind of problem?"

"Harry, your platelet counts are dangerously low. It's a known risk of the chemotherapy, but it is a concern, so we've already ordered a couple of bags of donated platelets from the supply at St Mungo's, and we'll give you those as soon as we get upstairs. Hopefully we can catch this before it causes any complications."

"I was just helping Ginny pack up."

"It's okay, Harry. I can finish up, I'll come check on you when I'm done," Ginny offered quickly, then seeing Harry's hesitation, she changed her tone, "Go."

* * *

Harry followed Angelina back up to the castle, they were weaving their way through the crowded corridors, when Harry began feeling like he would be ill, his stomach was still throbbing from where the bludger had struck.

Before he could stop himself, Harry suddenly doubled over, and bright red blood spilt from his mouth as he fell to the stone floor.

* * *

Angelina turned on her heel, hearing the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the ground behind her. Past several students who'd gotten between her and Harry, as Harry had fallen back, Angelina could see Harry curled up on the floor, vomiting blood, in a great deal of pain.

Sweeping past the students who blocked her path, calling for them to move along, Angelina dropped to her knees at Harry's side. "Hey, what's going on? Talk to me, Harry."

"M' stomach," Harry groaned painfully.

Angelina became aware that other members of staff were now arriving upon the scene, they were trying to send the students on their way, though none of them seemed keen to miss the show, as they not so subtly hoped that their newest professor's true condition might be revealed. But above anything else, Angelina's focus remained on Harry, she lifted up his robes to find that his lower torso was covered in vivid, already darkening bruises. "What happened?"

"...Bludger. What's going on?"

This was very bad news, probably the worst that Harry could've given. A low platelet count had lessened the ability for Harry's blood to clot, almost to the point of being nonexistent, and Angelina knew first hand just the amount of damage a bludger could inflict on a healthy person. In Harry's present state it could easily prove fatal.

"Damn," Angelina muttered, she conjured up a floating stretcher, and levitated Harry onto it, trying to reassure him, as she used her wand to quickly guide the stretcher towards the hospital wing, calling out for students to move out of the way as she went.

* * *

Madame Pomfrey rushed to assist Angelina as she levitated Harry's barely conscious form to an empty bed. "What happened, Ms Johnson?"

"I went to get him as you asked, we were walking up here when he collapses, tells me that he'd been hit by a bludger during the tryouts. Thought it best to bring him straight to you. He was throwing up blood, and there's a bruise on his stomach."

Madame Pomfrey listened to the information as she quickly peeled off Harry's robes, stripping him down to his underwear. Then while examining the aforementioned bruise, she ordered the younger woman, "Go get the platelets, quickly."

Angelina did as she was told, bringing over two IV bags filled with what could best be described as straw coloured fluid.

"Best run them both at once, I think," Madame Pomfrey said as Angelina worked. "I was so looking forward to a year when Mr Potter didn't end up here on a regular basis."

"Just can't help himself, I suspect," Angelina remarked, sensing, or rather hoping that the worst was now over.

"Yes, well there's not much to do now than wait. I'll find him some pajamas, if you could please let the headmistress know that we will be admitting one of her professors."

"How long will he need to be here for do you think? Professor McGonagall will want to know."

"Hmm... Just overnight probably, but we might keep him an extra day just to ensure that there are no problems with the chemotherapy tomorrow, so two days at the most. But he may be feeling poorly for quite a bit longer. If Minerva has any questions, have her come see me."

* * *

When Ginny arrived to check on Harry she was horrified to realise that this visit has become far from routine, and that she had witnessed the very event that had led to his collapse.

Harry lay motionless in the bed, dressed in hospital pajamas, without his beanie in place he looked very sickly indeed.

"Will he be alright?"

"Oh, yes I should think so. We caught it just in time," Madame Pomfrey said, having come over to calm the panicked student. She quickly checked that it was alright to divulge more information, asking, "You and he are a couple as I understand."

"We are."

"Very well. He has had a traumatic bleed in his stomach, but since we have begun the transfusion the bleeding has slowed, and he should suffer no ill effects of the incident. I've given him a sleeping potion, so he should rest for several hours. You're welcome to sit with him."

* * *

Harry awoke as expected three and a half hours later, the transfusion had finished, but his stomach still hurt terribly. Taking his glasses from the nightstand, Harry tried to get his bearings.

Seeing Ginny lying in his arms, Harry gently shook her awake. "Gin, come on. Time to wake up."

Ginny snored lightly, rolling over and nearly falling off the bed.

Harry gasped involuntarily in pain as Ginny used her hold on him to avoid falling; in an instant Ginny was wide awake and apologizing profusely at the very idea that she had further injured him.

"It's okay, Ginny. I'm okay. Help me sit up would you?"

Obliging gladly, Ginny helped Harry into a sitting position, stuffing pillows behind him, before gently letting him rest back against them. "How are you feeling? Do you need anything?"

"I'm just a bit sore, Gin. It's okay."

"Are you sure? I could go get Angelina or Madame Pomfrey."

"No, that's fine." Harry paused, remembering the circumstances that had lead to his latest admission. He was more than a tad embarrassed that he had become so fragile, too slow to even sidestep a weakly hit bludger. "It's just annoying, you know? A stray bludger, hit by a second year no less. I could've dodged it so easily a few months ago."

"It's not your fault, I shouldn't have even let Whelms on a broomstick, let alone letting him tryout as a beater. You know that he came to me after he saw you collapse, he begged me to ask you not to take points from Gryffindor. But that's not our biggest problem, Harry..."

"Why? What's wrong, Gin?"

"He didn't come to me as the Quidditch captain, his exact words were 'please tell your boyfriend I never meant to cause him any harm'. Too many people know about us, I was thinking that we should maybe take a break from each other. Just until I finish school, I don't want you to get in trouble with McGonagall."

Harry bent slightly to kiss Ginny's forehead. "We don't need to stop seeing each other, let me take care of things with McGonagall."

* * *

As it drew towards dinner time, Ginny stood to leave, when she and Harry were unexpectedly interrupted, as Hermione stepped around the screening curtains that had been placed around the bed.

Harry could hardly believe that he'd forgotten to let her know that he was alright, as by now the news was certainly well on the way to having been spread through the entire school.

"Oh Harry, I was so worried when I heard," Hermione exclaimed, embracing him tightly. "What on earth happened? I thought you were doing well."

For the briefest of moments, Harry debated whether he should lie about the cause of his hospitalization, the incident with the bludger. If he didn't, then she would asked endless questions that he wouldn't be able to answer. If he did, then she would only become more worried about Harry's ability to function, as Ginny now did.

It only added to Harry's problems that Madame Pomfrey had decided to keep him in the hospital wing, which left him with few means to seem in better condition than he felt.

In the end, he knew he had to tell her the truth, deeming that to be the best route.

Harry repeated the story of the events leading up to his latest admission to his best friend, before reassuring her by adding, "But I'll be out of the hospital in a day or so, and straight back to teaching, so you really don't need to worry." Harry noticed then that Hermione didn't quite seem herself. "Hey, is everything alright?"

"Oh yes, everything's fine... Well, I was supposed to meet Ron in Hogsmeade today, but he had to cancel. But I'm okay with that, really I am," Hermione said, though her tone was less than convincing. "He's gotten a bit obsessed with the idea of catching the Malfoys', and now it seems like they're getting new leads on the their whereabouts every other day, the aurors are going in circles. But that doesn't really matter, not now. I'm just glad that you're okay."

* * *

**TBC...**

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	7. Chapter Six

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Thank you so much to all the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter! I have struggled with depression and other issues for a long time, and I was going through a really rough patch, your reviews did help to cheer me up:)**

**Just realised that this chapter is a bit shorter than usual, but hey a new chapter after just two days...**

**Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter Six**

After Harry's collapse the amount of gossip surrounding him became unbearable, and once he left the hospital wing he found himself avoiding crowds as much as he could. This included taking his meals in his private quarters.

Angelina had shrunken an IV pump for Harry, so after going to the hospital wing each morning to have the treatments started, Harry was able to move about the castle while the chemotherapy ran in. The only real downside of this plan was that Harry occasionally found himself having to run out of classes to be ill.

Ginny had as Harry had expected - though he still found it very annoying - taken it upon herself to make sure that he was eating whenever he possibly could. Sitting beside him, she tried to encourage him to eat as she had to at almost every meal.

Scooping several of the more bland offerings onto his plate, Ginny gently prompted him, "Please, Harry just try a few bites. You've got to try."

"No Ginny, please. I'm not feeling up to it tonight."

"Come on, you did so well last night. Just try for me."

"Damn it, Ginny! I said no!" Harry snapped angrily, rising from his seat, and heading into his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.

Ginny had only been trying to help, now she ran out into the corridor, tears cascading down her face.

* * *

In the Gryffindor common room, Hermione was sitting by the fire, steadily working her way through a verifiable mountain of homework, when she heard the portrait door slam. Ginny made a bolt for the dormitory, but Hermione was quick enough to block her path.

"Ginny," Hermione spoke. Ignoring the rapidly growing crowd around them, Hermione took hold of the younger girl's arms, holding her in place. "What's wrong? Has something happened?"

Though usually quite unflappable, Ginny was a wreck, sobbing heavily, and shaking like a leaf. It was times like this when those around her saw just how much Harry's illness, combined with the residual grief from losing one of her brothers had worn her down.

"Come on, let's go upstairs, then we can talk," Hermione suggested, as though she'd only just realized how much attention the commotion had drawn.

Only once they were sitting in Hermione's dormitory, and locking and silencing charms had been placed on the door, did either girl speak.

"So what happened, Ginny? Is Harry okay?"

"...I was only trying to help," Ginny said, choking on her tears. "I know he's frustrated, but he shouldn't snap at me, it's not my fault that he's sick."

"I know that Ginny, so does Harry. You'll sort this out, don't worry."

* * *

Meanwhile, Harry was sitting in his quarters, waiting for his treatment to finish so that he could go to bed. Angelina had come to disconnect him from the IV pump, and they were talking amongst themselves, when they heard a light knock on the door.

Angelina stopped what she was doing, and went to open the door. Vaguely, Harry could hear Angelina speaking to someone in the doorway, then he realized who it was, as the older woman approached and made her presence known to him. It was Professor McGonagall.

"Good evening, Harry. I'm sorry for the interruption, but I think that we need to speak."

Harry noticed that Angelina had kept her distance, remaining by the door. A knot formed in Harry stomach; he didn't know why, but he could feel that this meeting wasn't going to be pleasant.

Trying to seem at ease, Harry greeted the headmistress, "It's no trouble, Professor. What can I do for you this evening?"

"Harry, it has been brought to my attention that Miss Weasley has been seen coming and going from your quarters at all hours, more specifically just minutes ago, after curfew, and in quite a state. Now, I understand that it is difficult for you to see her as a student and yourself as her teacher, but I will have to ask you to refrain from activities that make this harder, especially as you both seem to be having apparent difficulties with discretion. It simply isn't appropriate for a Hogwarts professor to be having relations with a student."

There was nothing simple about his relationship with Ginny, but Harry knew better than to argue the point. "...We've actually already spoken about that, we were thinking about taking some time apart until the end of the school year ...I'll talk to her."

"Very well. That is all, I will leave you and Ms Johnson to yourselves."

Harry waited for McGonagall to leave, before allowing his true feelings to emerge. "Damn it! We've just had a fight, now I've got to end things, she's going to think that I'm trying to hurt her. It's just bad timing."

"Misunderstandings usually are," Angelina replied sympathetically. "Do you want me to go find her?"

This wouldn't be necessary, Harry realized, as there was another knock on the door. "Harry, can we talk?" Ginny's voice permeated the door.

"I should leave," Angelina said softly, having finished disconnecting Harry from the pump. "I'll see you up at the hospital wing first thing tomorrow morning."

As Angelina left, Ginny stepped inside. Harry just wanted to hold his fiancé, make her understand, but it was as though the shock had frozen him in place.

Ginny came over, and sat next to Harry on the couch, she went to take his hand in hers, when Harry drew it back as though he'd been burned. Her demeanor changed instantly. "What the hell, Harry?"

Harry couldn't even bring himself to look at her. "We can't see each other anymore, Gin. Not while you're still at school."

"What are you talking about? I know we had a fight, but that's no reason-"

"That's not the reason, Ginny. McGonagall just came to see me, she's the one pushing me to do this. Someone must have reported us."

"Harry, no. Please don't."

"It's only until you graduate. We really don't have a choice anymore. I am sorry, Gin."

* * *

Ginny left Harry's quarters soon after, but decided to avoid returning to the common room until quite a bit later. She hoped to avoid having to speak to anyone, feeling as though any discussion might break the floodgates she was trying so hard to uphold.

But this plan didn't work as well as Ginny had hoped. Hermione had clearly been awaiting her friend's return.

It only took Hermione one look at the way the girl - who had left the common room nearly two hours ago seeming so confident that she would mend her relationship - was now showing signs that things had not gone as they'd hoped.

Hermione tried to get answers from Ginny, but the younger girl had promptly scrambled past her, and locked herself away in her shared dormitory. So Hermione used her privilege as a school prefect as an excuse to leave the tower, despite the late hour, and go see Harry.

* * *

"I didn't mean to snap at her, but I'm just so sick of it. Don't you all think that I'd rather eat than be stuck with this damn thing?!"

"Of course you would, Harry. But you did really upset her, you should apologize to her."

"I know, I've tried. But it's more than that... After our fight, McGonagall came to see me, said that I couldn't continue to be involved in a student teacher relationship, there must've been complaints."

"You broke up? With Ginny?"

"I had to, she'll understand when she calms down, right? We can start things again as soon as she finishes school."

To that Hermione could only sigh, reminded all too much of her own relationship, "Boys."

* * *

For three icy weeks the only contact that Harry and Ginny had consisted of glares and snapped remarks. Even in classes Ginny went to great lengths to avoid him.

It was after class, and Ginny only had a few minutes to spare before she had to be in Charms class, but she couldn't bear the silence any longer.

"Harry, can we speak?"

The words were like nothing else to Harry, instantly filling him with feelings he thought were no longer possible. Surreptitiously he pulled Ginny into his office, kissing her tenderly, before the reality of their situation returned to him. "I've missed you so much."

"We're not going to do this, Harry," Ginny said with as much strength as she could muster, pulling back from Harry.

"Yeah, right. I'm sorry."

"I have missed you though."

"You're still wearing your ring," Harry noticed, smiling.

"Well we are engaged, nothing will change that. We just need to postpone things awhile."

It was then that Ginny made the true reason for finally breaking the silence between them known, "How are you doing? Are your treatments still going alright?"

"I'm fine, Ginny. Everything's been fine, I've got to go to a check-up with Healer Griffin at St Mungo's on Monday. Just to make sure that the treatment's working properly."

"But what if-"

"Let's not even think about the what ifs, not if we don't have to."

"...Alright. We probably shouldn't be meeting like this too often, maybe you could send me an owl, let me know how you go at the appointment?"

"Of course. I'll do that as soon as I get back to the school. You know I never meant to hurt you, Ginny. I could never hurt you on purpose."

"I know."

"You better go, or you'll be late for your next class."

Ginny smiled softly. "Okay. I love you, Harry."

"I love you too, Gin. We're okay now, right?"

"Yeah, we're okay. But you better watch out, Ron knows, and he wants to kick your ass."

* * *

**TBC...**

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	8. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Thank you so much to all the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter! **

**I'll be trying out a new system starting from this chapter - when I recieve a review, I'll send out a preview of the next chapter to the reviewer. Basically, I'm not above bribing my readers to ensure that my muse gets it's review fix :)**

**Anyways, enjoy and please review!**

* * *

**Chapter Seven**

The weekend passed without any further incident, Harry even managed to make it out to the Quidditch pitch to watch the first game of the school year. Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, the former winning by a generous one hundred and seventy point margin.

Then came Monday morning. Harry had no classes scheduled until after lunch, so it was easy for him to take the Floo network across to St Mungo's for his appointment.

"So we're really just checking that everything's on track, Mr Potter. How've you been feeling?"

"Um, I've been alright mostly. The nausea hasn't been so bad lately, and I'm not getting so tired anymore."

"Are you eating much?"

"I've been doing alright with the smaller meals, more often, just like Angelina suggested."

"That's good. We should be able to get rid of that tube if you can manage regular meals, though it may need to be replaced if you start losing weight again. Is that something that you would be interested in?"

"Yeah, definitely," Harry replied, anything to make his condition less noticeable seemed like a very good idea to him.

"Alright then, we can try you without the tube feedings, I will recommend a high calorie drink that you can have several times a day instead."

"Okay, and what about my treatments? What's the plan there?"

"Well you've gotten through the induction phase with flying colours, and your most recent tests show no signs of residual disease. So, we've moved onto the consolidation phase, and as you know we have added another drug, etoposide to your chemotherapy regimen, after another two or three cycles hopefully you will be in complete remission, and you'll be able to move onto a much milder form of chemotherapy to maintain that remission."

"And how long until I'm finished? With treatment, I mean."

"After the twelve week consolidation phase finishes - which incidentally will be Christmas Eve from the look of things - you will switch to a tablet form of chemotherapy, which you will need to take for three years."

"Years?"

"Yes, it's the best way to avoid recurrence of the disease. But I do agree with you, it is quite a long time. Just understand that you will most likely have very few noticeable side effects during that time."

* * *

As promised, upon returning to the school, Harry sent Ginny a brief letter about what he and the healer had discussed.

Harry then returned to his quarters, trying to wrap his head around the information told to him by the healer. He was preparing to leave for his only class of the day, when he noticed that a message had been left on his desk for him.

Heads of houses will please note that the first Hogsmeade visit for this year has been scheduled for this coming Sunday. These visits are available to students third year and above. Kindly post a notice in your house's common room to inform the students, and ensure that permission forms are signed.

Sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

* * *

By the time Harry had composed a notice, and posted it in the Gryffindor common room, he was running quite late to begin the class. Moving to the front of the classroom, Harry passed by Ginny, Hermione, and the rest of the class, who had already taken their seats by the time he arrived.

"Good afternoon everyone," Harry may have been tired and stressed, but he had become quite good at hiding this. "We're going to start off today with a discussion on the patronus charm and it's uses, before breaking up to have a practice. I know that many of you will already have a firm understanding of this topic, but don't worry if you don't. Please remember that this is a very difficult, however useful, incantation, which even many highly skilled wizards are unable to master. Now, who can describe the patronus charm?"

Harry scanned the room, slipping into 'teacher' mode. "Yes, Miss Granger. You can tell us."

"The patronus charm is an advanced defensive spell, which when correctly conjured can shield the caster from Dementors, as well as a variety of other opponents; it can also be used to send messages when necessary. It can take either a non-corporeal or corporeal form, the latter being more difficult to produce. Corporeal forms of the patronus charm take different figures for each user."

"Excellent," Harry remarked, though he'd expected no less from Hermione. "What is the incantation used to conjure a patronus? And for bonus points, who can tell me the most important element to successfully forming a patronus?"

This time Luna answered. "The incantation used is expecto patronum. And for it to work the caster must focus on a very strong happy memory."

"Very good, Miss Lovegood. Ten points to Ravenclaw. When attempting to form a patronus it is crucial to remain focused on the happiest memory you have for as long as you hope to maintain the patronus. Now, if you could all stand, and spread yourselves around the room, we will have a try at the incantation."

The class did as instructed, spreading themselves out. Harry then did a brief demonstration of the charm he was hoping for them to produce, his stag patronus doing a light trot around the edge of the room, ducking and weaving between students, before disappearing. It took more out of Harry than it ever had before - the treatment had taken it's toll on Harry's magical abilities - he grabbed the edge of his desk to steady himself, motioning for the students to begin so as to distract them from his distress.

* * *

By the time that the class drew to a close, most of the students were worn out, dragging their feet as they moved towards their next class, but Harry was pleased to see that over half of the class had been able to form at least a wispy patronus.

After everyone else had left, Harry saw that Hermione had hung back, pretending to be looking through her bag.

"Hey, how'd you go? You don't think I was asking too much to have you guys doing patronuses, do you?"

"No, it was good, Harry. You are a really good teacher," Hermione replied, giving up the pretense of searching her bag, she looked up to her friend. "Ginny told me that you had an appointment today. How'd it go?"

"It was fine. They're going to take out the feeding tube tomorrow."

"Oh, that's great."

"Yeah, it is. I guess I'm still a bit shocked... did you know that I'm going to have to continue treatment for three more years?"

"I did read something about that I think. But it won't be like it is now, your hair might even start growing back." Hermione paused. "Ron wrote to me this morning."

"Oh yeah, how is he? Bet he misses you."

"Yes, well he has noticed that living on his own the cleaning doesn't do itself," Hermione laughed, as did Harry.

"I doubt that his mum would let things get too messy though."

"You'd be surprised; apparently she's trying not to go around too much. And besides, she's away visiting Bill and Fleur at the moment. Ron actually had the nerve to suggest that we should get a house elf, if you can believe that."

Harry cringed.

For years now, Hermione had fought for better rights for house elves, it wasn't difficult to see how the couple - who bickered mercilessly at the best of times - would have encountered a problem with such a suggestion.

"...Well, needless to say, I set him straight on the matter," Hermione paused, a small victorious, reflective smile gracing her features. "Oh, and George has finally moved back to his apartment over the shop in Diagon Alley. That's got to be a good sign. He must be doing better."

"...Yeah, that and him and Angelina want their privacy."

* * *

The next morning, Harry headed up to the hospital wing early. He had a full day of classes, and was keen to be rid of the feeding tube beforehand.

Angelina took him over to a bed, and peeled off the tape that held the tube in place, before adeptly pulling it out.

"Oh my god, that is the worst feeling," Harry said with a groan as the last of the tube was removed, choking back the bile that rose in his throat.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I could always put it back in," Angelina couldn't resist teasing him a bit.

"No, no, that's okay."

"Just say the word, Harry... Anyway, I've arranged for a supply of the nutritional drinks you discussed with Healer Griffin to be left in your room, try to have at least three a day, and let me know if you aren't able to manage that."

"I will."

"Are you going to be supervising the Hogsmeade visit this weekend?"

"I think so, yeah. Why?"

"Oh, I just wanted to make sure that you remember to take care of yourself, keep warm, and such. Your immune system is very weak at the moment, so you need to be careful to avoid infections, or exposure to the elements which may worsen any infections you come in contact with. We've already had a few students coming up with bad colds since the snow started."

"Noted," Harry said, gathering his things to leave. "That tape's left a really sore patch on my cheek, I don't suppose you could do anything about that."

"It does look a little red. Just wait here for a minute, and I'll get you something to put on it that should clear it up."

* * *

The evening of Halloween, Harry was disrupted as he was trying to finish planning the coming week before going to the feast, by someone tapping on his office door.

Wearily standing, Harry made his way to the door, pulling it open.

There standing on the other side of the door was a tiny first year, who Harry recognized as a Hufflepuff student by the name of Jones, the boy was brandishing a shabby looking note. "I was asked to bring this to you, Professor."

"Thank you," Harry said, accepting the note. "You should head on down to the feast now."

The boy obliged, heading off albeit in the wrong direction. Harry sighed deeply, jogging to catch up with the young student, and pointing him in the right direction. Returning to his office, Harry unfurled the note.

Harry,

Can you meet me down at my hut? I've got something to show you.

Hagrid

It did seem slightly odd to Harry that Hagrid hadn't just waited until the feast to speak to him, but remembering the lead up to similar incidents involving his half giant friend, Norbert for instance, Harry shrugged off his feelings of unease, and started making his way out towards the gamekeeper's hut.

* * *

Harry walked through the sodden fields, then he thought that he saw something moving behind some ruins, putting a hand to his wand, Harry tentatively approached. That was when he saw him-

"Malfoy?!"

Harry drew his wand; a known death eater was on the school grounds, despite McGonagall's start of year warning, in these times no one would question if Harry had killed Draco where he stood.

But to Harry's surprise, Draco didn't draw a wand, instead he lifted his hands in surrender. "I'm not here to hurt you, Potter. I want to turn myself in."

* * *

**TBC...**

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	9. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter series, or any characters thereof. This is just for fun.**

**Thank you so much to all the lovely people who reviewed the last chapter!**

**Same deal with this chapter folks - when I recieve a review, I'll send out a preview of the next chapter to the reviewer.**

**I apologise for the delay in posting this, RL has gotten in the way as I'm busily renovating my new house.**

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* * *

**Chapter Eight**

_"I want to turn myself in."_ The words echoed through Harry's mind; surely this was some kind of trick.

"What?"

"I think you heard me, Potter. I'm done with hiding, I am prepared to surrender."

"Your wand, hand it over. Do it slowly," Harry shouted, extending his open hand. If he'd had more energy Harry would have spelled the other man's wand away, but these days he couldn't always be certain that even simple spells would work for him, and he knew that he couldn't risk Draco realizing his potential weakness.

Glancing around quickly, Harry checked that Draco was truly alone.

Slightly surprised, but not thinking too much of it, and not in a position really to offer his usual snide comments, Malfoy carefully took his wand from within his robes, placing it in Harry's outstretched hand.

Satisfied that Draco could do little without his wand, Harry relaxed slightly, but he still kept his own wand trained on his longtime enemy; for whatever good that would do him. "You tricked me, didn't you? Hagrid never sent me that note."

"I knew you wouldn't come any other way, and I wanted to speak to you privately."

"Why are you doing this? And why come to me? Here of all places."

"Aurors have been on my tail for months, I know they wouldn't think twice about killing me-"

"And what makes you think that I would? I was one of those aurors for a time."

"We have history ...You know I've never killed anyone, that I could never kill anyone. I only did what my family forced me to."

"You let in the death eaters who killed Dumbledore," Harry pointed out, "You tortured people."

"I'm not asking to be forgiven. Mother and I parted ways with my father after you nearly caught us in Roxwell, he said that we slowed him down too much. The stress of running has become too much for mother. People who were once our closest friends want to kill us. I just want it to end."

"And you think that I am going to help you?"

"All I'm asking is that my punishment match my crimes. I know the laws, but I'm asking you... I need your help, Potter. I'll give you names, every death eater I know of, whatever you need."

Maybe it was because of his own battle, the fact that he knew what it truly meant to suffer, or maybe it was something else entirely, he didn't know, but Harry felt for Draco, and so after careful consideration, he agreed to speak on Draco's behalf before the Wizengamot. "Alright. I'll do what I can."

Even Malfoy seemed surprised by his response, "Really? You know that this isn't something to joke about, if I find out that you're lying..."

"I said I'll help you as much as I can, and I will. Come on, we will need to go to McGonagall's office," Harry then told Draco, pointing him towards the castle, all the time keeping his wand trained on the other man.

Malfoy slowly started to walk in the direction that had been indicated by Harry, and Harry fell into step several paces behind him, making it very clear to anyone who would see them that Draco was in his custody.

* * *

When Harry agreed to do what he could to help Draco, he didn't think of how his friends might take it. Mostly people accepted it, but for Ron - who had worked tirelessly for many months searching for Draco and his family - this seemed like a very personal blow.

"You've got to be bloody joking, Harry! This is mad."

"I'm sorry, Ron. But I just don't think that he deserves a life sentence in Azkaban. They might've gotten rid of the dementors, but that place is still a horror show, and I don't think what Draco has done is enough to warrant that. His father, yes. Him and his mother, no."

"You don't even like the slimy git!"

"There are plenty of people I don't like, doesn't mean that I would hand them life sentences in Azkaban," Harry countered evenly.

"But-"

"No, Ron just give it up. Draco is going to spend time in Azkaban, and you're more than welcome to go after his father, but I am going to speak at Draco's hearing, nothing you say is going to change my mind."

"He wouldn't do it for you."

"I know."

* * *

The hearing was set for two weeks time, and albeit reluctantly McGonagall allowed Harry to cancel his classes for the afternoon to attend.

The entire Wizengamot was gathered in the court room, when Harry arrived. He waited until he was called before going inside. No time was wasted before the hearing began.

"This is a very unusual situation that we have been faced with today. Draco Lucius Malfoy is a known death eater, that isn't in contest, but the Ex-Auror, Harry James Potter has agreed to speak on his behalf, he is as I understand it seeking a lessened sentence for Mr Malfoy. Mr Potter you may proceed."

"Um, well..." Harry hesitated at first, somewhat unsettled by the sight of his former classmate sitting in a truly vicious looking cage in the middle of the room, his face drained of any colour it might once have had, not even trying to stop the tears of despair that ran down his face.

Taking a breath, Harry steadied himself, and continued in a much more composed manner, "On the thirty-first of October 1998 at seven o' six pm Draco Malfoy turned himself in to me at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. At this time he stated that he would provide me with the names of every death eater known to him, in exchange for leniency. It is also known to me that Malfoy was inducted into Lord Voldemort's ranks when he was still underage. In direct consultation with the Minister for Magic, and my former colleagues in the Auror Office, we have agreed to ask that he receive a reduced sentence, one year in Azkaban."

"One year? I find it hard to believe that anyone in the Auror Office would find that acceptable," The head of Magical Law Enforcement, who was presiding over the court, exclaimed. "I will need to confer with your superiors before I make my ruling. And I would like to see some of those death eaters who the defendant has named being captured-"

"There have been seven arrests made so far based on information provided by Mr Malfoy."

"Very well. The prisoner is to be returned to Azkaban until a decision can be reached."

* * *

After a record length of deliberation, the Wizengamot finally agreed to sentence Draco Malfoy to only one year in Azkaban.

By the time this news reached Harry, it the week before Christmas.

As it was, the celebrations would only be small for Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys. There had been plans for the family to spend the holiday at the Burrow, but as Harry understood it, Molly had broken down several days ago, unable to cope with the idea of having a family Christmas without Fred.

So now it seemed that Harry and Ginny would remain at Hogwarts; Hermione would go home, but only to share the holiday with Ron.

It was a bit of a letdown for Harry, as Christmas coincided with the end of his need for intensive chemotherapy, and he had been looking forward to celebrating this milestone with Ginny away from prying eyes.

But Harry certainly wasn't going to be the one to tell Mrs Weasley that it was time to move past the loss of one of her sons. And it seemed that this feeling was quite mutual amongst the entire Weasley family and it's extensions.

* * *

Only two dozen or so students had remained at Hogwarts for the holiday, mostly this consisted of those students who since the war didn't have families to return to, and Christmas only served as a very painful reminder of that.

As usual, the majority of the staff had stayed, but for the feast Professor McGonagall threw 'proper' conduct to the wind, and removed the staff and house tables from the great hall, leaving just one long table where staff and remaining students all gathered.

Ignoring a sideways glance from McGonagall, Harry sat beside Ginny, and for a few brief minutes they enjoyed each other's company for the first time in weeks.

* * *

For several months things seemed to settle into something resembling 'normal'. Harry spent most of his time concentrating on his commitments as both a professor and the Head of Gryffindor house, though he enjoyed the times that he could take a break. For example, going out to watch his fiancé playing Quidditch, and quite frankly bringing the Gryffindor team to a higher standard than Harry had ever known it, or having a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks with a few of his former professors, now his colleagues.

The only real time that Harry gave much thought to the leukemia was when he took his tablets each morning, or had to stop into the hospital wing for a check up and to collect his medications for the next month.

It was one of these trips to the hospital wing that would end up leading Harry on quite an emotional journey.

The large wooden doors that guarded the entrance were slightly ajar, Harry was about to push one further open, when he heard Madame Pomfrey and Angelina talking inside.

At first Harry could only catch parts of the conversation, and though he knew he shouldn't, he strained his ears to hear better, leaning towards the doors. It did little to help matters.

"...very ill indeed ... chemotherapy must be started immediately..."

This was Madame Pomfrey's voice, and her words certainly caught Harry's attention. Surely if they were discussing chemotherapy, they were discussing him.

Harry was about to burst through the doors, to demand answers, in a panic. Then he heard Angelina's voice.

"...glad the parents decided against sending her to a muggle hospital, there's so much that we can do here, like we have with Harry..."

Now Harry realised that they must be discussing a student, a girl, who like him had cancer.

"Yes, it is much better this way, and the poor dear really is keen to stay with her friends, the support will be so important. If you would, I'd ask that you take the lead on Miss Conners' care, Ms Johnson, I am aware that you do have a much greater understanding of these muggle treatments than I do."

Miss Conners. Harry wracked his brain to think of the aforementioned student. Harry thought, finally connecting the name to a face; Hailey Conners, a very bright muggle-born fourth year Ravenclaw student. Of course, Harry remembered the girl well now, he often had compared her to Hermione, similar in background and skills though very different in appearance.

The girl that Harry knew was slightly shorter than her classmates, really she was generally quite petite, she had waist length straight dark blonde hair, a plain, but rather pretty face, and deep blue eyes. Harry smiled, thinking of the true joy he'd found teaching the young girl, who had so much potential in his subject.

But she was sick...

* * *

**TBC...**

**Just a quick explainer here - I'm putting in an OC for this fic, not just to prolong it, which would just be annoying. My plan is to use 'Miss Conners' as a way to show how Harry has coped with his illness, as I don't think it would be in character for him to show his true feelings unless it would be beneficial to another. Thoughts?**

**Please take a moment to drop in a review!**

**So, remember reviews=exclusive chapter previews :) **

**And as always, if you have any suggestions or ideas for this story, please message me, and I'll do my best to work them in.**


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